TexMessage: Rick Perry adviser says governor ‘doesn’t have that fire to be president’

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Dave Carney, the veteran political adviser to Gov. Rick Perry, has been swatting away the rumors.

“It rises periodically,” the New Hampshire-based consultant told us. “It’s been going on for years.”

It’s the Perry for President boomlet. We’re in the midst of a new one. Adding fuel to the fire was conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh’s 20-minute monologue Wednesday beseeching the Texas governor to reverse course and seek the 2012 nomination.

“If you were going to sit down and hire a (Republican) candidate for president, Perry would be a good choice,” Carney said of his friend and client. “He’s missing one ingredient: the desire to be president.”

Carney, who is working for Newt Gingrich’s 2012 presidential campaign at the moment, says he understands why the Perry rumors take hold. The 61-year-old conservative is the longest-serving governor in Texas history and leader of Republican governors. He says Perry “gives a voice to those who care about what happening economically” and he staunchly advocates for states’ rights and limited federal authority.

“He gives a good speech,” says Carney, “and he has a pretty good message.”

Still, the adviser says the governor is serious when he says he doesn’t want to live on the Potomac.

“Unlike a lot of politicians, he doesn’t have that fire to be president,” Carney explained. “He truly thinks he can be more effective from the state house than the White House.”

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Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (Official photo)

★ SHEILA JACKSON LEE CALLS FOR ‘DISMANTLING’ OF SYRIA’S GOVERNMENT. In a press release sent out Thursday, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, called for a dismantling of Syria’s current government and for the reformers to seek a coalition government. Jackson Lee, ranking member of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security, said after traveling to Syria earlier in her career, she had hoped the government could be a leader on reform and democracy in the Middle East. “Sadly, that did not occur … I am calling for the dismantling of the Assad government in Syria,” she said. “This new government must live in harmony with the rest of the Middle Eastern countries and cease provoking intrusive violence in the region.”

★ CORNYN RAPS OBAMA ON ISRAEL. Texas Sen. John Cornyn didn’t think much of the lofty rhetoric in President Obama’s speech yesterday on the future of the Middle East. “President Obama should not unilaterally decide where the borders of Israel should be,” Cornyn said — a viewpoint widely echoed by conservative Republicans and talk-show hosts. “Unprecedented U.S. pressure on our friend Israel is wrong and could make a negotiated peace with the Palestinians more difficult, as the administration’s previous diplomatic blunders have demonstrated.” Obama’s sin, in Cornyn’s eyes: verbalizing existing U.S. policy, which is that the 1967 borders of Israel should be the starting point for negotiations on the final shape of a future Palestinian state.

★ CORNYN, HUTCHISON WORKING WITH THE OTHER SIDE TO LIGHTEN JUDGE WORK LOAD ON U.S.-MEXICO BORDER. In hopes of lightening the case load of judges on the border, GOP Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn are co-sponsoring legislation introduced by Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California. Read more about what the Emergency Judicial Relief Act of 2011 would do here.

Rep. Ron Paul (AP Photo/Richard Shiro)

★ ANTI-WAR GROUP SEEKS DEEPER TIES TO RON PAUL. A representative from Code Pink, an anti-war group known for its loud, disruptive protests at hearings and on Capitol Hill, said the group’s ideals are increasingly becoming closer and closer to Ron Paul’s. The representative specifically cited the libertarian’s views on the U.S.’ relationship with Israel, saying that both agree U.S. aid to Israel needs to be cut. Read more here.

★ IS THE THIRD TIME A CHARM? Answer a Wall Street Journal poll here on whether you think Ron Paul can secure the GOP nomination this time around.

★ BEYONCE IS REPPIN’ THE LONE STAR STATE. Getting back in the entertainment scene in her first music video in a while, the singer gives a shout out to Texas. Watch the video here.

★ PERRY FOR PRESIDENT (CONT’D). Texas Gov. Rick Perry says he doesn’t want to “be distracted” by buzz in DC that he should/is considering/might run for president. More>>>

★ Saturday: Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, hosts a town hall meeting focused on the effects of proposed budget cuts to education funding. The meeting will be from 4 to 6 p.m. CDT at the James D. Ryan Middle School in Houston.

★ Tuesday: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has a hearing examining al Quaeda, the Taliban and other extremist groups in Pakistan and Afghanistan at 9 a.m.

★ Tuesday: The Senate Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism has a hearing examining how to respond to the prescription drug epidemic. It will focus on strategies to reduce abuse, misuse, diversion and fraud. The hearing is at 9 a.m.

★ Wednesday: The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee has a hearing focusing on meeting the needs of service members and veterans in transition. The hearing is at 10 a.m.